#Renji isn't completely like Jonathan's character in the movie

[jylener22]

IchigoxOrihime In the Movies: The Mummy

No request to fill here. Just my imagination running amok.

“Renji, why are we going to the guardhouse? Is your contact the warden or one of the officers?”

Grinning sheepishly down at his half-sister, Renji replied rather evasively, “Well, I believe I remember him saying something about how he fought in the army at one time.”

Sensing more than seeing Orihime’s stern look, Renji held up his hands in surrender and said, “All right, all right...he’s one of the inmates at the guardhouse,” then he held up a defensive finger as he finished hastily, “However, I wasn’t lying when I said that he said he was part of the army.”

Firmly planting her feet, crossing her arms and glaring daggers from her slightly over five-foot-tall stature, Orihime nevertheless struck quite the intimidating figure as she said in a deceptively calm voice, “Before I take another step, you give me three valid and irrefutable reasons why I should talk to this...’friend’ of yours.”

Intentional or not, Renji merely said, “Look, I obviously can’t vouch much for his character as he is in the clink, but I’m telling you that he knows what he’s talking about. He can actually take you to...well, there.”

Shifting her weight, Orihime arched an eyebrow at him and asked in a flat tone, “Took you there last night, did he? All the way to Hamunaptra?”

“Well, no. Obviously not,” spluttered her brother, before he leaned close to her ear and said in a hushed tone, “It’s a risk, I’ll grant you, but what isn’t? You know what all the quacks and blowhards sounded like when they claimed to know how to get to there, but this guy I’ll swear has been there.”

Still not entirely convinced, Orihime’s body language nevertheless became more relaxed as she asked in a resigned way, “Why? How are you so convinced he can take us there?”

Leaning in closer, Renji whispered, “Because he doesn’t sound like he ever wants to go back. I think it’s also possible he regrets it and doesn’t want other people to find it.”

“Okay...then why did he say anything about it to you?”

Stiffening momentarily, Renji straightened up and tried to walk away when Orihime instinctively grabbed one of his arms and held it fast as she demanded, “Renji...what did you do?”

Massaging the back of his neck, Renji let out a half-hearted chuckle and said, “Oh well, I can’t really recall the details. Pretty sure there was a bottle or two downed during our little visit. Maybe a couple of poker hands where during a couple of hands secrets about that city were traded instead of money by the loser.”

“Great,” sighed Orihime, “Now I’m dealing with two gamblers, drinkers and cheats. Honestly, why me?”

Walking into the compound, Orihime had to suppress the urge to pick up her skirts and run away as fast as she could from the sights, sounds, but mostly the smells of the prison. Had her much taller and burly brother not been at her side, Orihime would have done so without a second thought, but as it stood at the moment, she figured that she’d come this far, so might as well see it through to the end.

While the warden had the good sense not to overtly leer or make offensive remarks about Orihime’s appearance, there were more than a few slow looks that made her feel once again like bolting. Arriving in front of what seemed to be an empty cell, Orihime was just turning to glare at the two men and rip them a new one for involving her in a ludicrous goose chase when a door on the other side of the cell burst open and two massive men forced another man into the cell.

At first, Orihime couldn’t see how the prisoner was any different from any of the other filthy and crude inmates she had seen thus far, but after the man gave his two jailers a rather impressive withering look, there was something about his posture and bearing that gave Orihime the impression that there was more to the man than what she was currently seeing. When he turned his attention to the group on the other side of the bars of his cell, Orihime found herself wondering what he might look like if he wasn’t covered in who knew how many layers of dirt and grime.

Her musings were interrupted when the man stalked over to the bars, menacing glower firmly in place as he demanded gruffly, “You two the reason I was so rudely woken up from my last nap ever?”

Completely taken aback, Orihime could only ask automatically, “Beg pardon?”

Raising his shackled hands to grip the bars, the man huffed and replied, “Guess it would be too much for a condemned man to expect that his last few minutes of life couldn’t be spent in relative peace and quiet.”

Before Orihime could think of anything else to say, the man asked curtly, “So, what exactly are you so desperate to find out from me?”

Stepping in beside Orihime, Renji said firmly, “You just keep a civil tongue in your head when you’re talking to my sister, Kurosaki.”

To Orihime’s utter astonishment, the man named Kurosaki suddenly lunged forward to land a resounding punch square on Renji’s nose. Unsurprisingly, Renji hit the ground clutching his nose while Kurosaki hit the ground not two seconds later when the two jailers dealt the man a punch each.

Before the jailers could continue with beating the prisoner, Orihime held out her hands and pleaded, “Oh please don’t! He’s had enough!”

After the men backed away, Kurosaki gave Orihime a wry smirk as he said, “Not bad, lady,” but then his scowl returned as he said, “but you still haven’t answered my question. What do you want?”

Looking down at her moaning big brother, Orihime decided that it would be best to finish this business up quickly and answered truthfully, saying, “My name is Orihime Inoue-Abarai and this is my brother, Renji. He said that I needed to meet you because you told him that you claimed to know the way to...Hamunaptra.”

Kurosaki’s face remained impassive as he asked, “What’s it to you if I do?”

Not at all phased by the man’s tone or demeanor, Orihime replied, “Well, it was always my father’s dream to find the city of Hamunaptra and up until the day he died, I helped him with his research and tireless searching. His passion for history and all the secrets it held quickly became my own dreams,” when she realized she was rambling, Orihime finished with, “It may seem silly to you, but I want to find this city to honor my father’ memory and if you have any information that could help me, I would greatly appreciate you sharing it with me.”

For a long moment, Kurosaki looked at Orihime with an expression she couldn’t quite read before he finally answered with, “Can’t.”

“Why?” asked Orihime before her brain was able to think that it was a ridiculous question and stop her from saying it aloud.

“’Cause they’re gonna hang me in less than an hour, lady,” Kurosaki said as he shrugged, “Unless...”

When he trailed off, Orihime didn’t realize that she had drifted closer to the bars to hear what he had to say as she asked, “Unless?”

Kurosaki leaned in closer as he said in a low voice, “Unless I was somehow pardoned of these trumped up charges they have against me and released, I won’t be able to tell you how to get to...”

“Hamunaptra,” Orihime supplied without thinking, staring up into his intense brown eyes.

“Right,” he said, “Think you can do that?”

“Do what?” Orihime asked in a daze.

“Get me out,” said Kurosaki gruffly, “Can I count on you?”

“I...I...” began Orihime in her usual flustered manner when all of a sudden she found her voice unable to leave her mouth as Kurosaki’s was suddenly covering hers. Had her brain been able to function at that particular moment, she would have been mortified at the thought that her very first kiss was coming from a man she had only just met, who was a prisoner near to being put to death and filthy as anything...and yet for some reason she never wanted the kiss to end.

Yet end it did, rather abruptly when the jailers landed two more ferocious blows and started dragging Kurosaki out the door in the back when the man in question turned back to Orihime and demanded, “Help me and I’ll help you!”

“Okay...”